The Complete Guide to Mmo Economies
Most “complete guide to MMO economies” articles you’ll find online are just glorified spreadsheets masquerading as wisdom, filled with academic jargon about “fiat currency stability” that ignores how players actually behave. They treat an economy like a math problem to be solved, but I’ve spent too many nights moderating guild forums and watching hyper-inflation destroy…
The Complete Guide to Mmo Design
Most people looking for a “complete guide to MMO design” are looking for a math textbook, thinking that if they just balance the combat spreadsheets perfectly, players will stay forever. They think it’s about the gear scores or the skill trees. They’re wrong. I spent years moderating guild forums watching high-level players quit not because…
The Complete Guide to Live Service Games
Most “complete guide to live service games” you’ll find online are just glorified marketing brochures disguised as strategy wikis, telling you which buttons to press to maximize your efficiency. They treat these games like math problems to be solved, rather than what they actually are: a series of constant negotiations between your free time and…
The Complete Guide to Free to Play Design
Most “experts” will hand you a white paper filled with buzzwords like “monetization loops” and “player retention metrics” and call it a complete guide to free to play design. They treat players like data points to be harvested, ignoring the fact that every time you implement a paywall, you’re actually having a conversation with your…
The Complete Guide to Game Monetisation
Most “complete guide to monetisation” articles I find online are written by people who have never actually had to look a player in the eye—metaphorically speaking—after stripping a piece of content behind a paywall. They talk about “maximizing LTV” and “optimizing conversion funnels” like they’re managing a hedge fund rather than a living, breathing community.…
The Complete Guide to Progression Systems
Most “experts” will hand you a complete guide to progression systems that looks like a spreadsheet vomited onto a page, filled with math formulas and “optimal” leveling curves. They’ll talk about retention metrics and dopamine loops like they’re anything other than a way to trick you into staying online. But I’ve spent too many nights…
The Complete Guide to Designing Game Economies
Most people think a “complete guide to game economies” is going to be some massive spreadsheet-heavy lecture on inflation rates and supply-demand curves. They’ll tell you that if you just balance the math perfectly, your players will stay engaged. That’s a lie. I spent years watching guild forums melt down because a “perfectly balanced” loot…
The Complete Guide to Balancing a Game
Most people will tell you that a “complete guide to game balance” involves a massive spreadsheet, a PhD in mathematics, and a prayer to the gods of RNG. They’ll talk about standard deviations and complex combat formulas like they’re some kind of holy scripture. But I’ve spent too many late nights staring at my own…
The Complete Guide to Playtesting
If you’re looking for a “complete guide to playtesting” that involves expensive focus groups, massive QA departments, and some high-level academic theory about player psychology, you can close this tab right now. Most guides treat playtesting like a sterile laboratory experiment where you observe rats in a maze, but that’s a lie. In reality, playtesting…
The Complete Guide to Prototyping
Most “complete guide to prototyping” articles I find online feel like they were written by people who have never actually had to ship a build. They talk about “iterative cycles” and “resource optimization” as if you’re managing a skyscraper construction site rather than trying to figure out if a single jumping mechanic feels like a…